I'm looking for input on a lake to try about 1 to 1.5 hours north of the Twin Cities. I'll be taking my A22 and my cousin will be bringing a 24 ft pontoon. He wants an out of the way lake but not too far as it will be his first time pulling such a big trailer and he wants to see how his truck handles it without going too far. Any suggestions for a good wakeboarding lake we can check out?

boardman74

05-05-2013 7:49 PM

That covers about 100+ lakes...no kidding. What are you looking for? Lake size, amenities, etc. You want to go north on 94, 35, 10? There really are endless options.

will5150

05-06-2013 9:15 AM

Gonna have to wait a couple more weeks- still lots of ice up there.

DenverRider

05-06-2013 9:51 AM

I hate you!! j/k. I moved to CO from MN and although, when I lived there, I either stayed in town and rode Prior, Crystal, and Orchard mostly or went closer to 2.5 hours north to one of the smaller lakes surrounding Mille Lacs. I miss having so much to choose from. The answer to that question here in CO is, you can try Boyd or Horsetooth but they're both full of chop and busy. I don't miss the winter though, nor the people whose only hobbies are hunting and fishing ... nor the fat chicks.

snork

05-06-2013 3:50 PM

its not called MN Fats for noth'n :eek:

boardman74

05-06-2013 6:30 PM

Thats odd. I have lived in MN most of my life. I lived in Jacksonville, FL for about 5 years and always thought of Florida as the home of the beautiful people..turns out not so much. Way more heavies in JAX then in the Metro area of MN. My sister lives in Miami and it's not any better, unless you are talking the high end money area's they show in the video's. I will deal with the winters for the summers. I spent alot of time in places with limited lakes when I was in the military and it sucks. But then again this winter sucked!!

Back on subject...Lou what are you looking for?

ferral

05-15-2013 9:53 PM

Sorry for the delayed response, work just blew up for a bit there and my WW time suffered. Anyway, I'm still pretty new to MN so I guess I didn't realize what I was asking.

1. I don't really have much specific I'm looking for. I live right off 35 in Forest Lake so let's say we'll be heading about an hour north from there
2. Just a day trip, so need need for nearby camping/lodging/etc
3. Good lake for wakeboarding - not too crowded, relatively wind protected
4. Prefer a fairly deep lake, I don't want to be constantly worried about killing my prop or worse in an unfamiliar area.
5. Decent launch ramp - no dirt ramps, preferably steep so the boat floats off/on easily

Hopefully that narrows it down a bit. Throw me some options. Thanks!

will5150

05-16-2013 8:55 AM

you're now down to about 60 lakes. You just need to get out and check them out. the wind in MInnesota comes from every direction - so no one lake will have it all. I like to have an option for westerly winds, then one for south winds. When it comes out of the north, it's usually blowing cold so no riding. No lake in Minnesota is really deep, but that's all subject to interpretation. I grew up in the Seattle area- our lakes average 100 feet+ . Minnesota lakes will run in the 20-50 feet average- some of the bigger impounds like Whitfish and Gull have deep holes- but you're not riding in those areas guaranteed. Crowds- again subjective- the farther out of the metro you get- especially NW- it's better. Around Brainard- it's always busy. Most lakes have decent ramps in the state. we pay high taxes and the state provides relatively good access almost everywhere.

ferral

05-16-2013 10:05 AM

I understand there are a lot of lakes, just throw out some suggestions if you have any. The main purpose of the trip is for my cousin to test out how well his truck tows and what to expect before he does a much longer trip later in the year. I'm not doing a bunch of scouting for this as we're just going one time as a test run. Figured having an actual destination is better than just driving and turning around.

You'll be able to test out your towing capability, meet most of the MN wakeboard community, meet and watch a few of the best riders in the world compete for a lot of cash (Scott Stewart, Mike Dowdy and JD Webb). Visit www.mnspringride.com for more details.

ferral

05-16-2013 2:01 PM

Haha, thanks Jay. I actually was thinking of heading up to Spring Ride one of the days, didn't even think about combining these two things. With 2 small kids at home though, it would still only be a day trip. I'll have to see if that works for everybody.

ache_for_wake

05-16-2013 8:29 PM

Hey Jay will the ice be off of Gull by then??? :)

ironj32

05-17-2013 5:30 AM

I believe the ice is finally gone, at least in Steamboat Bay.

ferral

05-17-2013 11:05 AM

I may still head up to Spring Ride, but the dates and distance don't work for my cousin. So I'm still looking for some lake suggestions closer to home.